Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe is now the symbolic leader of the best players in the land, with the midfielder named captain of the 2019 Virgin Australia AFL All Australian Team.
The team also features fellow Freo star Michael Walters, who earnt his first All Australian jacket after being selected at half forward.
The duo were honoured alongside the full team of 22 players at a ceremony at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on Wednesday night.
Fyfe, who was named as the rover, is now a three-time All Australian, with his 2019 achievement going alongside his jackets in 2014 and 2015.
He becomes the first Fremantle player to be named captain of the All Australian team.
Regarded as one of the best players in the AFL, Fyfe was again at his best in 2019.
He averaged a career high 29.2 disposals per game and despite missing two games in 2019, he ranked third for contested possessions and fourth for clearances in the AFL.
Fyfe said he was honoured to be named as captain.
“It’s incredibly humbling if you look at some of the class players in this team,” Fyfe said on the Fox Footy broadcast.”
“I think I’ll be putting myself on the bench to start with, there are some quality players here and I don’t think they’d need much guidance or leadership from me. It’s really humbling to be captain.”
Already a star at Fremantle, Walters took his game to another level in 2019 and was the second highest ranked forward in 2019 according to Champion Data.
Not only did Walters lead Fremantle’s goalkicking with 40 majors this season, he was one of team’s most prolific midfielders.
He averaged more disposals, contested possessions and clearances than any other AFL player who kicked more than 25 goals in 2019 and he trailed only Gary Ablett from that group for inside 50s.
Looking good in the green and gold boys #AllAustralian #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/wrL2paKda1
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) August 28, 2019
Walters said he was delighted with the honour and reflected on two of his two game-winning performances in 2019.
“I do (feel honoured), it’s come after I got sent back to my WAFL club (in 2012) as I wasn’t elite at the time. There were little things I learnt along the way to make me a better person and a player. I’m really humbled,” Walters said on the Fox Footy broadcast.
“It’s been my most consistent year. If I’m getting shut down, I’ve been lucky enough to play in the midfield and break that.
“As a kid, you always dream of taking that big mark or kicking the winning score. This year I’ve been lucky enough to do that twice with the goal against Collingwood and the point against Brisbane.
“I’ve been asked, and kicking the point was the best one for me, you don’t see that too often and it was massive for me to do it in Indigenous round.”